#zookeepers

'Lovely day for a Guinness'

New design! I want to make an entire series of these with a variety of animals. I picked bison as my first design since I am a bison keeper! I primarily work with domestic animals (farm animals) however I also take care of bison, elk, prairie dogs, barn owls, and a bald eagle. I love all of them and working with them is very rewarding.

These designs are up on my redbubble!

Could you please tell me of some trees that are completely safe for parrots? (Leaves, bark, fruit, etc. are okay for them to ingest) I have a 1.8m x 1.8m (6ft x 6ft) outdoor aviary for my cockatoo that we sit in when the weather is nice, and I’d love to put a potted live tree or two in there for her to perch on (and probably chew on, as parrots do). I live in a humid subtropical climate, so plants that do well in that type of climate are preferred, though I’m not against bringing them indoors for the winter if I need to.

I’d love pictures of the plants as well as the names if possible, so I can be sure I have the correct tree!

Pictures of the my sweet girl in the aviary for cuteness tax:

The zoo lives and breathes off of the passion of these people.

I actually got to talk to the previous director (who now was directing a different big zoo) and I asked two questions:

1. How can disabled people get jobs at your zoos, what jobs would be accessible to someone like me (wheelchair user)

2. What are your plans on increasing paid internships and wages for zookeepers?

The first one she said that working with the aquatic species or small reptiles would be best, since the reptile house is accessible despite being older. She said she would think about it and get back to me (she never did, but tbf shes extremely busy and I didn't continuously ping her)

2. They've been having meetings and workgroups trying to figure out how to increase pay and paid opportunities especially for people from low-income areas, as they are less able to take unpaid internships as they need to support themselves. Zoo budgets are extremely tight even for the Smithsonian.

Now idk if that's true, I'm sure it's mostly true at least, and most of the blame is on the government for not providing more funding to these places and instead most funding goes to the military and giving the rich fat tax cuts.

Zookeeper with baby animals, Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois, 1940s

CB&Q A-5-3 Record Group A-5 Box 64 Folder 3473